MUSIC. art. CULTURE. HAMILTON. NEW ZEALAND

With just under three weeks to go until Future City Festival 2018, we thought it would be helpful to outline some details around ticketing. This year we have made three presale ticket options available...

1. A Weekend ticket - $59 - entry to all venues on both nights - BUY HERE2. A Saturday only ticket - $45 - entry to both venues on the Saturday BUY HERE3. A Friday only ticket - $25 - entry to both venues on the Friday - BUY HERE

Doorsales will only be made available if presale tickets do not sell out, so buying beforehand is definitely the way to go to guarantee entry. Please note that numbers are more limited on the Friday night due to the size of the venues. Here's the schedule in full... Friday 9th March @ Nivara Lounge and Creative WaikatoThe Beths, Dad Jokes, Pumice, The Scones, Date Month Year, Being, Repairs, Bloodlux, Cowboy Dan

Paul Turney grew up in Cambridge, New Zealand, and has gone on to become one of the leading archival audio engineers in the UK. In between, he was a keyboard player for Hamilton formed band Flight X7, described by some as New Zealand’s answer to Devo! We talked to Paul about his time in Flight X7, his early life, and the highlights of his career as a sound archivist. Read the interview -> HERE <-

Happy Waitangi day to you all! Our gift to you on this special day is another episode of '6 Songs Podcast', where two hosts select three songs each - one Hamilton related, one NZ related, and a random one, and tell us a little about each one. It's much better than it sounds 'on paper', although tbh the vocal sound quality is somewhat compromised this time as our main mic crapped out bigtime. It's passable, we think. Our usual high standards of broadcasting will be resumed as soon as possible. Play it below, or a dowloadable version, click -> HERE <- or visit our SoundCloud -> HERE <- We hope you enjoy!

With just 7 weeks to go, we excited to be able to announce the final lineup and ticketing details for FUTURE CITY FESTIVAL 2018!

Joining those already announced will be some of Auckland finest alternative bands namely Miss June, Cowboy Dan, Repairs, Dbldbl and Being. Noiseniks Flooging A Dead One Horse Town complete the out of town contingent. Hamilton based bands The Changing Same, Rubita, Kitchenette and Punch Monkeys will also feature, with Matamata garage rockers Loudhailer completing the bill.

2017 has been quite a busy and exciting one for us here at HUP. Instead of doing a highlights or best of, Arpie and Ian thought they'd recall each HUP-organised show, as there were quite a few pearlers in there. Click HERE to read more!

A new HUPCAST is here for your listening pleasure, and comes in the form of another 6 Songs Podcast. In each episode of 6 songs, a couple of HUP contributors or guests choose 3 songs each - one Hamilton related, one NZ related, and one random one. A brief or detailed explanation of the track and/or why it was chosen ensues. We hope you enjoy it, and find something that you really like. Remember to support the bands by buying their music where possible! Stream it below, over on our Soundcloud, or download it from -> HERE <-

It’s summer time! At least here down here in the southern hemisphere. So some of you might be off for a spot of fishing. Or perhaps you simply like to watch fish swimming around in an aquarium. Alternatively, you might just enjoy the pagan symbolism. Regardless, it is Christmas, which is a time to make lists. Not so much a Top 10, we look at ten of our favourite songs about fish and fishing! See our selections -> HERE <-

HUPCAST 15 is the first episode of our new '6 Songs' podcast. In each episode of 6 Songs, a couple of HUP contributors or guests choose 3 songs each - one Hamilton related, one NZ related, and one random one - and then yarn about them for a bit. You can stream it below or download it here! ​​

Disjecta Membra formed in Hamilton in 1993, moving to Wellington in 1997. Their debut album, ‘Achromaticia’, was released soon after their move. In February 2018 the band will be celebrating by releasing a 3 CD set, ‘Achromaticia: Twentieth Anniversary Edition’. We talked to Michel Rowland to find out why they have chosen to re-release the album, how he feels about it now, what is featured among its extensive bonus material, and discuss the Hamilton connections in all this! See the full interview -> HERE <-

After the success of this year's Future City Festival, HUP is very excited to be able to release some details around 2018's event!

Next year's festival will take place on Friday March 9th and Saturday March 10th, running from 7pm to midnight each night. Friday's venues will be Nivara Lounge and Creative Waikato, while Saturday's action will take place at Nivara Lounge and The Meteor.

In total, 23 amazing bands will play over the two nights, with The Datsuns closing the festival late on Saturday night at The Meteor. Hamilton bands make up a good proportion of the bill, with 5 Girls, Cheshire Grimm, Date Month Year and Glass Shards plus brand new bands Bloodlux and Bitter Defeat. The festival also sees a debut live outing for System Corporation, a band consisting of members of Rumpus Room and The Datsuns. Auckland bands will also be strongly represented with the delicious indie pop of The Beths and The Scones, surf punks Dad Jokes and experimental solo artist Pumice. A further eleven bands will be added in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, earlybird weekend tickets go on sale on this morning, Friday December 15th, over at undertheradar.co.nz. Single-day tickets may be released nearer the time.

In the meantime, 'whet' your appetite with a few tasters of what will be an excellent couple of nights in the city of the future...